Wednesday 11/3
2 Kings 20:8 Hezekiah had asked Isaiah, “What will be the sign that the Lord will heal me and that I will go up to the temple of the Lord on the third day from now?”
9 Isaiah answered, “This is the Lord’s sign to you that the Lord will do what he has promised: Shall the shadow go forward ten steps, or shall it go back ten steps?”
Reflection: God gives us signs to know that he will do what he has promised. What a beautiful truth!
The Gospel of John contains many signs. John intentionally calls seven of these miracles “signs” that point us to Jesus. (See John 1-11)
What sign(s) are you holding on to confirm that Jesus will do what he has promised?
2 Cor 1:22 “…put his Spirit in our hearts as a deposit, guaranteeing what is to come.”
2 Kings 20:10 “It is a simple matter for the shadow to go forward ten steps,” said Hezekiah. “Rather, have it go back ten steps.”
11 Then the prophet Isaiah called on the Lord, and the Lord made the shadow go back the ten steps it had gone down on the stairway of Ahaz.
Reflection: Is it easier for the shadow to go forward or backward? Regardless, Hezekiah was ready to believe the sign from the Lord.
Compare this with Isaiah 7:1-17. Hezekiah’s father Ahaz says he will not test the Lord and ask for a sign, but Isaiah rebukes Ahaz and says the Lord himself will give him a sign: The virgin will conceive and give birth to a son, and will call him Immanuel.
Compare this with the Pharisees and Sadduccees who ask for a sign to test Jesus in Matthew 16:1-4. Jesus rebukes their lack of ability to read the signs of the times and says that no sign will be given except the sign of Jonah.
What is the middle ground between the two? How does Hezekiah ask for a sign? Remember from this morning: God gives us signs to know that he will do what he has promised. What a beautiful truth!